We’ve been busy busy busy around here and I haven’t felt much like writing. I’ve sat down to write a post once or twice but the words just don’t feel right so I walk away and never come back to it. The words still don’t feel right today but I’ve decided that I am going to force myself to sit down and actually post something.
How were your holidays? Ours were great. Filled with family and fun and presents.
Then a week long vaca at the Happiest Place on Earth and when I say that I mean it. It is our favorite place on earth. Which is why we spent five straight days at Disneyland and California Adventure.
It is good to be home though. I never thought nine hours of laundry followed by two hours of washing cars would actually feel good but it does in a masochistic sort of way.
There were many happy memories made this week but one that sticks out as so so special is our Build-a-Bear experience. Evangeline received a gift card for B.A.B. over Christmas so I put it aside to use at Downtown Disney because they have an awesome two story B.A.B. and I wanted to check it out. I wasn’t so excited about the regular ‘ole bears and bunnies downstairs and it was packed like a can of sardines in there so we trekked on upstairs where they had Build-a-Dino. An ecstatic Eva picked out a Pteranodon just like on the show “Dinosaur Train” and named it Tiny.
I have never seen her more excited about shopping. She had her arms full of clothes and accessories for her little dino. I wish I had taken a picture. We had to pry half of it out of her hands of course.
It was just a truly delightful experience to see my little one so happy and about something that I thoroughly approve of. I don’t like her to watch too much TV but Dinosaur Train is a great new show on PBS which also touches a bit on adoption.
Now that the holidays and vacation are over I can get back to school and start working on my goals for this year. One of which is losing the 5 pounds that I gained during all the glutinous festivities.
*And no none of these business are paying me to write great things about them. I wish they were….but they’re not.
Growing up 15 miles from Disneyland my Mom and Dad took us whenever they could. When they didn’t have money to take us into the park we would go on the weekends and watch the water show at the hotel and then the fireworks afterward.
Disneyland has always been a part of my childhood and whenever I go back it just invokes a feeling of happiness in me that no other place does.
Walt Disney was an inspirational person and someone I look up to for is innovate mind and his willingness to take chances and dream BIG.
In Eva’s 2 years of being on this planet she has been to Disneyland 4 times and we plan to go many more times this year since we already bought our annual passes. She is a big fan of Mickey/Minnie Mouse, Dumbo, and loves the Princesses and Tinkerbell too. What can I say it is just in her to love everything Disney. I think I’ve mentioned this here before but whenever we go to the mall she doesn’t want to play in the toy area because it is right in front of the Disney store and she just wants to hang out in there the whole time.
I am so excited because Disney on Ice is coming to Phoenix one week from Tomorrow! We are taking her and I know she is going to love it.
For all you Disney Fans out there it will be here in Phoenix April 9th – 12th and if your not in AZ click this link to see if it is in a city near you.
For the Arizona show if you enter the discount code: MOM you can get a family 4 pack for $44 which is a great deal!
To make myself feel better, and since I love to plan, I wrote down some things we can do this summer so we can still get out of the house and give our daughter fun experiences while still sticking to our budget.
1. We have a pool that I am sure will get a lot of use this summer plus there is a community pool when we want something a little bigger – FREE
2. A short drive away is Tempe Town Lake and the beach park which has a little water play area for little kids and it is FREE!
3. Continue going to story time at Barnes and Noble and the local Library- FREE
4. Shamrock Farms is a local dairy that does farm tours. Adults – $9 Children – $6
5. We can drive to the many mountain ranges that are only 1-2 hours away to escape the Phoenix heat for a day. FREE except for gas and food.
6. Harkins Theater (which is 2 minutes away) has a summer movie program. $7 for 10 movies
7. Since we just bought Disneyland annual passes a couple weeks ago and since my in laws live about 20 minutes from Disney we can drive out to California and stay with them a couple of times this summer. If gas prices stay low it will cost us about $40 in gas and food for the whole weekend will be about $100.
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Ever since we went to Disneyland a couple of weeks ago Eva has been obsessed with Tinkerbell. We watched the fireworks and she was enthralled when Tinkerbell flew behind the castle and spread her pixie dust. We rented the movie as a special weekend treat and she LOVED it! I think we will be needing a Tinkerbell costume this Halloween!
We are headed home tomorrow after a loonnnnggg trip to Disneyland. I turned 30 on Saturday (sob sob) so we decided to celebrate at the happiest place on earth. I’ll blog more about our trip later this week as well as a review on a book to help your child eat healthy, some gorgeous hair bows, and a cool new toothbrush you don’t want to miss. In the meantime Eva would like to offer you some chocolate.
